PIEZO-BASED DOWNHOLE FLOW METER
First Claim
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1. A flow meter for measuring downhole flow in a well, the flow meter comprising:
- a cylindrical housing defining a channel there through for accommodating flow;
a resonator beam coupled to a surface of said cylindrical housing and having a portion disposed in the channel; and
a piezo-material integrated with said resonator beam and configured to generate a voltage corresponding to flow induced vibrating of said resonator beam.
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Abstract
A flow meter is provided for disposing downhole in a well. The flow meter includes a resonator beam that is integrated with piezo-material to generate a voltage in response to the downhole flow. A resonator head may be incorporated with the resonator beam so as to enhance the generated voltage where appropriate. Configurations of flow meters employing such piezo-material may substantially avoid the use of moving parts susceptible to corrosion and other downhole conditions. These configurations may be particularly useful for long term downhole use such as for production monitoring.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A flow meter for measuring downhole flow in a well, the flow meter comprising:
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a cylindrical housing defining a channel there through for accommodating flow; a resonator beam coupled to a surface of said cylindrical housing and having a portion disposed in the channel; and a piezo-material integrated with said resonator beam and configured to generate a voltage corresponding to flow induced vibrating of said resonator beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A flow meter for measuring downhole flow in a well, the meter comprising:
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a cylindrical housing defining a channel there through for accommodating flow; a resonator beam coupled to a surface of said housing and having a portion disposed in said channel; and a resonator head coupled to said beam to amplify vibrating thereof in response to the downhole flow. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An assembly for monitoring flow in a well at an oilfield, the assembly comprising:
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a downhole flow meter with a piezo-integrated beam for interfacing flow accommodated by said flow meter; and a unit communicatively coupled to said meter to obtain flow data corresponding to voltage generated by piezo-material of the piezo-integrated beam in response to the interfacing the flow. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method of monitoring downhole fluid flow in a well, the method comprising:
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positioning a flow meter downhole in the well; exposing a resonator device of the flow meter to flow accommodated thereby to generate a vibrational frequency; and employing piezo-material of the beam to generate voltage flow data in response to the vibrational frequency. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification